BarnScoop: KDA Points Banquet, Much More Than Awards

On Saturday, September 23, we were honored to host the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Livestock Youth Points Program Awards Banquet at Burley Fields Livestock Center. This banquet is to award youth for their year of hard work and dedication to their livestock program and awards are given according to points tallied while attending KDA sponsored district shows, livestock expos, and the Kentucky State Fair.
The KDA points program involves five species, dairy, beef, swine, sheep, and goat and points are earned for placing in the top ten at sponsored shows with added points given to champions. Youth exhibitors are also given points for showmanship, livestock judging, and skillathon contests.

     Christmas arrived early for many of the youth involved, especially those placing in the overall top ten in their divisions with thousands of dollars worth of show supplies awarded at the banquet. It needs to be clear that these awards are not gifts, they are earned from hard work and many miles traveling to all the shows. Several states offer points programs but few have free entries to district shows or even local county fairs plus our Kentucky youth are also provided with educational opportunities through livestock judging and skillathon clinics and contests.
   I am an advocate for livestock projects for the obvious reasons of teaching responsibility, animal husbandry, the rewards of hard work, and the science of nutrition, genetics, and animal health. However, my favorite aspect of livestock projects and the agriculture industry are the relationships built. This is obvious from the points banquet seeing families arrive and the kids running to meet their friends they haven't seen in several weeks or months. Hearing people say they knew they weren't getting any awards but were in attendance just to see friends is confirmation of the strength of friendships built across the state. My own family is blessed with so many life-long friends that we first met at livestock shows both in Kentucky and across the nation.
     Congratulations to all the youth recognized at the banquet with over 200 people in attendance. I'm not going to list all the winners but I have included the link to the KDA Show and Fair Promotion Facebook page which includes the photographs of winners. Two special awards were presented, each voted on by KDA Shows and Fairs staff. Katie Jo Walker was the recipient of the 110% Award and Todd Yazell was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
While the awards banquet recognizes the youth, the attendance at the shows would not be possible without parents, grandparents, family and friends helping to haul both livestock and kids to these events. If you are one of these lucky kids, be sure to thank your parents for their time and help with your projects.
I am especially proud of our local Hart County youth that were in attendance and recognized for the following awards:

Destiny Byrd, Hardyville - 8th Dairy Cow exhibited; 9th Dairy Showmanship; 6th Overall Dairy Exhibitor with Keith Rogers, Chief of Staff to Commissioner of Agriculture

Taylor Jeffries, Canmer - 5th Beef Heifer exhibited; 4th Top KY Proud Beef Heifer; 2nd Beef Cow/Calf; 5th Beef Showmanship; 3rd Overall Beef Exhibitor, with Tim Hughes, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Agriculture Marketing and Product Promotion.